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520
St. Benedict
St. Benedict established the first monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy. He drew up a set of rules for the monks, which included vows of obedience, poverty and manual labor. -
Jan 30, 1066
William
invaded and conquered England. He defeated King Harold who was killed at the battle of Hastings. William brought feudalism and culture from France to England. -
Jan 30, 1096
First Crusade
began. The Crusaders were armies of Christians from all over Europe who marched to the Holy Land to regain lands captured by the Turks. The First Crusaders took the city of Jerusalem but paid a very heavy price in lives. -
Jan 30, 1147
Second Crusade
was launched. This Crusade is generally considered to have been a failure. -
Jan 30, 1189
Third Crusade
was one of the more successful. In it King Richard the Lion-Hearted obtained certain privileges for Christians from the Turkish ruler, Saladin. -
Jan 30, 1202
Forth Crusade
launched. In this Crusade the original purpose of the Crusades was abandoned, and the Crusaders burned and sacked many cities and villages on their route. They never reached the Holy Land. -
Jan 30, 1215
King John
of England was forced to sign the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta gave some basic rights to the people and also said that the king was not above the law. -
Jan 30, 1291
Fall of
Acre marked the end of the Crusades. Acre, the last Christian city in the Near East, was lost to the Turks. -
Jan 30, 1348
The black plague
swept England and Europe. It was estimated that one out of every five people in England died. Spread by fleas which infested a huge rat population, the disease is characterized by the victim turning dark purple in the last hours of life due to respiratory failure, hence the name, black plague. -
Charlemagne
was crowned ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. This act symbolized a union of church and state.
was crowned ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.